Garment construction



Oct. 29, 1963 L, REED GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 9, 1961 swim LORETTA RE E0 fim,m,m+aim ATTORNE YS' lplllnll'llill United States Patent 3,108,284 GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Loretta Reed, 170 Chairfactory Road, Elma, N .Y. Filed Oct. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 143,762 3 Claims. (Cl. 2-93) This invention relates to garments such as suits, jackets and blouses and more particularly to a new and novel sleeve construction therefor.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a method of sleeve construction which is less time consuming and requires less skill than the usual methods of forming sleeves in garments of the hand-knit, crocheted or woven type.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of sleeve forming as aforesaid which produces a sleeve of distinctive and attractive appearance.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sleeve construction method which makes possible the use of numerous decorative variations in appearance without changing from the single, simple construction procedure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description hereinbelow and from the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a sleeve of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the sleeve of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3-6 are perspective views showing how rectangular panels of fabric are joined and folded to form the sleeve of the invention.

In hand Weaving and knitting it is much simpler and faster to produce fabric in rectangular form without having to cope with involved instructions for shaping the fabric being produced and, inasmuch as time is the most expensive element in a hand produced garment, all savings in time materially effect the cost of such goods. The method of my invention achieves the above stated objects by making it possible to produce functional, distinctive and attractive garment sleeves from a basic rectangular modular unit material.

I have found that a complete sleeve may be formed of a plurality of substantially identically sized square fabric panels and that the sleeve formed thereby will be very well adapted for connection to the body of a garment and that the result will be a sleeve of striking appearance. The desired structure is achieved by constructing a tube from substantially square panels of fabric which are oriented with their marginal edges alined at an angle of 45 to the longitudinal axis of the tube.

In a specific embodiment, as seen in the drawings, a sleeve 8 of the invention may comprise basically five rectangular panels of fabric, as shown at 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 respectively, which are joined at their adjacent marginal portions as indicated at 20. As discussed hereinabove, practice of the invention will be of particular value when using hand-knit, woven, or crocheted material but of course any desired fabric may be used for the rectangular components. Any of a Wide variety of methods of joining the fabric panels may be used, as will be discussed hereinbelow.

From FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 it will be seen that simply folding the fabric of FIG. 3 to bring the edge portions designated x to abutting position and joining these edges by any suitable means as discussed herein, will result in the tubular sleeve section seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, with the inner armhole end open for peripheral attachment to the body of the garment to which it is attached and with the sleeve extending downwardly at 45 to the end 25 which will give the sleeve the proper hang when the gar- 351 Patented Oct. 29, 1963 ment is being worn. The length of the sleeve may be increased by adding rectangular units of material. These will of course be added in opposed pairs as indicated by the dotted-in panels 28-30 in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The lower end of the sleeve may then be finished by joining together a portion of the opposed edge portions of the panels 1 6 and 18 which will taper the sleeve to the point where the desired size of wrist (or arm, depending on the length of sleeve) opening remains. This area of joining is most clearly shown between the bracketed lines 25 in FIG. 2. Alternatively, and/ or additionally as illustrated, a culf portion 26 may be added to the bottom of the sleeve as a decorative finishing touch and can serve the additional function of lengthening the sleeve to a limited extent.

The joining of the rectangular segments making up the sleeve of the invention offers a wide range of possibilities which may be selected for decoration and styling considerations. For example, FIGS. 1 and 2 are drawn to depict joining of the fabric units with large stitchings of heavy gauge yarn in a color contrasting to that of the fabric panels thus providing decorative bold contrasting diagonals running through the sleeve.

Alternatively, the fabric panels may be joined by sewing with fine stitches of a fine matching thread, minimizing the effect of the seams and producing a solid color sleeve. Still another alternative is the use of crocheting to join the panels. In this case, the color of yarn used, the width of crocheted band, and the use of a pattern in the band itself may all be used to achieve various decorative effects. In addition, further decorative possibilities lie in the use of groups of panels comprising panels of different colors and/or textures. Thus it will be apparent that the range of decorative variations possible while still using the novel and simple construction method of the invention is practically unlimited.

Although only one specific form of the sleeve of the invention has been shown it will be appreciated that certain changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. -In a sleeve for a garment, a tube formed of a plurality of substantially square panels of fabric, means connecting certain of the marginal edges thereof with said panels being oriented with their diagonals running longitudinally and transversely of said tube, one end of said tube being defined by three of said panels; one having a free corner adapted for shoulder point connection to the body of an associated garment and with the sides adjacent such corner being free for attachment along the arm hole margin of the body of an associated garment; and the other two each having a side connected to a respective remaining side of said one panel and an adjacent side free for attachment along the arm hole margin of the body of an associated garment and the other end of said tube tube terminating in a zig-zag line defined by free corner portions of conjoint panels at said other end.

2. A sleeve for a garment having a shoulder point, said sleeve comprising a tube formed of a plurality of generally rectangular shaped panels of fabric formed by interlaced strands of material of like physical characteristics, strands of material having different physical characteristics interconnecting said panels at marginal edges thereof, said panels being oriented with their two diagonals running respectively longitudinally and transversely of said tube, the top end of said sleeve forming a chamfered end portion terminating in a point defined by a corner of one of said panels for connection to said shoulder point, and the lower end of said sleeve tube terminating in a 1 a zig-zag cuff line defined by free edge portions of conjoint References Cited in the file of this patent panels at said lower end. U ITED TAT s ATEN 3. In a sleeve as defined in olaim 1 wherein portions S E P TS of the sides defining said free corner portions of conjoint 22378 Pftchel's 7, 1893 panels are joined to narrow the sleeve at said other end of 5 571,918 Finger et a1 Nov. 24, 1896 the tube. 2,393,268 Rotkel Jan. 22, 1946 

1. IN A SLEEVE FOR A GARMET, A TUBE FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY SQUARE PANELS OF FABRIC, MEANS CONNECTING CERTAIN OF THE MARGINAL EDGES THEREOF WITH SAID PANELS BEING ORIENTED WITH THEIR DIAGONALS RUNNING LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY OF SAID TUBE, ONE END OF SAID TUBE BEING DEFINED BY THREE OF SAID PANELS; ONE HAVING A FREE CORNER ADAPTED FOR SHOULDER POINT CONNECTION TO THE BODY OF AN ASSOCIATED GARMENT AND WITH THE SIDE ADJACENT SUCH CORNER BEING FREE FOR ATACHMENT ALONG THE ARM HOLE MARGIN OF THE BODY OF AN ASSOCIATED GARMENT; AND THE OTHER TWO EACH HAVING A SIDE CONNECTED TO A RESPECTIVE REMAINING SIDE OF SAID ONE PANEL AND AN ADJACENT SIDE FREE FOR ATTACHMENT ALONG THE ARM HOLE MARGIN OF THE BODY OF AN ASSOCIATED GARMENT AND THE OTHER END OF SAID TUBE TUBE TERMINATING IN A ZIG-ZAG LINE DEFINED BY FREE CORNER PORTIONS OF CONJOINT PANELS AT SAID OTHER END. 